Positioning means in candle making apparatus



Sept. 7, 1954 Filed Feb. 24, 1954 C. J. SCHROEDER POSITIONING MEANS INCANDLE MAKING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet l I iiiii 'wluuwi INVENTOR.

Sept. 7, 1954 c. J. SCHROEDER POSITIONING MEANS IN CANDLE MAKINGAPPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 24, 1954 11v VEN TOR. Carl J.Scfvmea'w J. SCHROEDER POSITIONING MEANS IN CANDLE MAKING APPARATUSSept. 7, 1954 Filed Feb. 24, 1954 INVENTOR Carl J. Schroeder ATTORNEY ,7I I IIIHIIHHHI HHIIHHIHH Patented Sept. 7, 1954 POSITIONING MEANS INCANDLE MAKING APPARATUS Carl J. Schroeder, Hammond, Ind., assignor toStandard Oil Company, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of IndianaApplication February 24, 1954, Serial No. 412,256

5 Claims.

This invention relates to a candle making apparatus and it pertains moreparticularly to-a means for positioning candle holders over a wax bathin an apparatus for making dipped candles.

In apparatus for making dipped candles having a rotatable horizontalwheel for supporting candle holders and a wax bath positioned below theholders, difficulties have been encountered in properly positioning thecandle holders over the wax bath. As a result candles are damaged in thedipping operation by hitting the sides of the bath, and manufacturingcosts per marketable candle are high. In addition, the apparatus itselfmay be damaged and costly frequent repairs may be needed. Anillustration of such an apparatus is U. S. 2,647,282. r

The main object of my invention is to provide an improved apparatus fordipping candles whereby production costs are reduced to a minimum, speedof production is increased and the uniformity of the product isimproved. A further object is to provide a candle dipping apparatus thatis essentially automatic in operation. A particular object of myinvention is to provide an improved means to aid in the properpositioning of the candle holders over the wax dipping bath. Otherobjects of the invention will become apparent from the followingdetailed description of a specific example thereof.

In order to carry out my invention I have provided a wheel which isrotatable on a vertical axis. The holders for supporting the wicks andpartly formed candles are attached to the wheel. Positioned around thecentral axis under the holders is a molten wax bath and a candle coolingmeans, if desired. The wax bath may be positioned on a platform whichmay be moved vertically, means may be provided for moving the holdersvertically, or a combination thereof may be used. Hold-back means, e.g., spring-loaded convex buffer hold-back means, and means to preventrebound from the hold-back means to aid in positioning the holders overthe wax bath are provided. The entire candle dipping operation may becarried out automatically by means of control mechanisms.

A clearer understanding of the invention and the various featuresthereof will be gained from the following description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings wherein I have illustrated apreferred embodiment thereof.

In the drawings similar parts are designated by like referencecharacters throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a partial plan view 01' a wheel showing a triple crank andthe location of the hold-back means and pawl means associated therewith.

Figure 2 is an elevation of the wheel showing in elevational section thevertically movable wax bath and two holders being cooled.

Figure 3 is a partial plan view showing the triple crank and pawl meansand the hold-back means in partial section.

Figure 4 is a partial plan view showing part of one crank arm associatedwith both the pawl means and the hold-back means which is shown inpartial section.

Figure 5 is an elevation view of the pawl means of Figure 4.

Referring to Figure 1, wheel I l is shown having radially extending armsI2 which support holders It for sup-porting the tops and bottoms ofwicks and partially formed candles. Wheel I I is rotatable on verticalshaft I l. One of the holders is shown positioned over wax bath l5.Triple crank H5 for rotating wheel i l is shown with some of itssupporting structure. Hold-back means Ill and pawl means it are shown asto their location by block diagram.

Referring to Figure 2, motor means I9 is shown associated with triplecrank I6, which it operates. Two candle holders are shown with coolingequipment which consists of a circular open channel 29 having aperforated inner horizontal partition. Cooling air is introduced via theperforations to aid in solidifying the wax on the wicks and partiallyformed candles. Cooling channel 20 encircles all holders !3, except theholder positioned over wax bath l5. That is, channel 20 does not quiteform a complete circle. Wax bath i5 is shown mounted on platform 2|,which can be raised by hydraulic lift 22. Associated with wax bath isare lines 23a, 23b and 230, which can be either flexible hoses or swiveljointed pipes. Lines 23a, b and c are used for introducing or removingwax from tank l5 and for providing heat in the form of hot water orsteam to keep the wax molten and at the proper dipping temperature. Waxbath I5 is an insulated rectangular vessel open at the top. Either acoil or a jacket or both can be used to add heat to keep the wax. inbath l5 molten and at the proper dipping temperature.

Details are shown in Figure 3 of triple crank it associated withhold-back means I! and pawl means 58. Triple crank [6 consists of threecrank arms 24a, 24b and 240 radiating from central hub 25. The externalends of each crank arm terminate in a crank pin 26 and a boss. Crankarms 24a, 24b and 240 are 120 degrees apart, and bosses 21a, 21b and 210are connected by bars 28 to form an equilateral triangle. Crank l6rotates on central shaft 29, which is operated by motor means I9, shownin Figure 2. Bosses 21a, 21b and 21c are the portions of the triplecrank which contact the hold-back means and pawl means.

Hold-back means The hold-back means I1 is shown in detail in Figure 3.This mechanism has support 30 as its base. Lever 3| is pivotablyattached by a pin 3|a to support 30. Attached to lever 3| is roller 32and rod 33, which is pivotably attached to lever 3| by pin 33a and isapproximately perpendicular to lever 3|. As a substitute for roller 32 aconvex buffer having no moving parts may be used. Cylinder 34 is rigidlyattached to support 30 and is so positioned that it is coaxial with rod33. This cylinder has spring positioned within it and it is closed atits free-end by adjustable plug 36. The free-end or rod 33 is enlargedto form piston 33 which is positioned within cylinder 34, and piston 31is prevented from escaping from cylinder 34 by shoulders 310. on thecylinder at its open end near the point of attachment to support 30.This piston 31 coacts with spring 35, which resists being compressed bypiston 31.

Roller 32 can be mounted on the same axis as the point of attachment ofrod 33 with lever 3|. However, preferably lever 3| is made wide at itsfree-end with a knob-like portion 3|b for roller 32 to be attached. Suchan arrangement allows boss 21c, approaching from a direction aboutparallel to lever 3|, to contact roller 32 substantially head-on uponinitial contact and not tangentially. In any event it is preferred thatthe direction of approach of boss 210 to roller 32 be substantially lessthan perpendicular to lever 3|. Hold-back means ofiers maximumresistance to boss 210 at the time of initial contact with roller 32,because only a small increment of force is applied by boss 210 to presslever 3| down against the resistance of spring 35. As power is appliedto triple crank I5, roller 32 is forced down in a direction towardcylinder 34 and about parallel to the longitudinal axis of cylinder 34,the resistance offered by hold-back means rapidly decreases, since thedirection of force being applied by boss 210 to roller 32 is rapidlychanging from approximately parallel to lever 3| to perpendicular tolever 3|. As boss 21c passes beyond roller 32, roller 32 is forced up byspring 35 to engage a following boss. The tension of spring 35 may beadjusted by plug 36. Normally the tension will be adjusted to be just alittle more than sufiicient to stop the rotation of the triple crankupon initial contact of a boss with roller 32, when the inertia of thesystem is greatest, i. e. when the candles are ready for their finaldip.

The hold-back means ll will not work if the parts are so arranged that aboss upon contacting roller 32 does not tend to force lever 3| downtoward cylinder 34. Furthermore, reduced effectiveness of hold-backmeans will result, if a boss approaches roller 32 initially from adirection approaching perpendicular to lever 3|.

Pawl means The pawl means l8 acts in cooperation with hold-back means I!to position properly holders |3 over wax bath l5. The pawl means I8comprises a base 38, three pawls 39a, 39b and 390 rotatably connected tobase 28, three springs 40 attached one to each pawl, springs 40 beingheld in place on base 38 by three pins 4|a, MD and He and pin 4|d whichwith the aid of springs 40 positions pawls 39a, 39b and 390. As a bosspasses a pawl, a spring causes the pawl to snap back to its normalnon-operating position and the boss is prevented from rebounding fromhold-back means l1. Multiple pawls are used to prevent triple crank l6from rotating in the opposite direction even though a boss has not quitecontacted hold-back means H but has rotated far enough to at least passpawl 39a.

Refer to Figure 4, which is a different embodiment of the inventionwherein hold-back means I! and pawl means l8 coact with the same boss atthe same time. In Figure 3 the hold-back and pawl means are showncoacting with different bosses at the same time. Either embodiment issatisfactory, but the one shown in Figure 3 is preferred to avoidcrowding of the parts. In the embodiment of Figure 4:, a part of a crankarm and one boss is shown associated with pawl means l8 and hold-backmeans I! which is shown except for a portion of cylinder 34 and relatedparts. Pawl means H3 is rigidly attached to support 33 of the hold-backmeans.

Figure 5 is an elevation view of pawl means |8 of Figure 4 to aid inshowing the arrangement of parts of this device. The three small dottedcircles 40a, b and c on pawls 39a, 39b and 39c represent the points ofattachment of springs 40 to the pawls.

Operation After holders |3 with wicks attached have been positioned onwheel II, the machine is ready to begin the candle dipping operation.After a holder has been positioned over wax bath l5, hydraulic lift 22raises wax bath [5 to cause the Wicks on the holder to be completelysubmerged in the molten wax which had been previously added to bath l5.Power is then cut-ofi from lift 22 and wax bath I5 is lowered to itsrest position. When bath l5 has reached its rest position, solenoidcontrols actuate motor l9 which rotates triple crank [6 for of arevolution. One crank pin of the triple crank [6 always engages wheel IIto cause wheel II to rotate with crank l6 and another holder is movedtoward position over wax bath |5 while the holder that has just beendipped is moved into cooling channel 20. The mechanisms are so adjustedthat motor power is stopped just prior to a boss contacting hold-backmechanism however, the inertia of wheel II and triple crank |6 causesthe boss to rotate to contact roller 32. The roller 32 offers suchresistance to the boss that the rotation of triple crank I6 is stoppedand in fact the boss tends to rebound and cause the triple crank IE toreverse its direction of rotation. It is at this point that multiplepawl means l8 operates to prevent the boss, which has just passed thelast pawl 390, from reversing its direction of rotation. If the timingof power cut-off of motor I9 is slightly off and/or the inertia of therotating apparatus is not sufiicient to quite carry a boss into contactwith roller 32 of hold-back means I I, normally the boss will at leasthave moved far enough to pass the first pawl 39a, and the holder will besufficiently well positioned over wax bath l5 that it will not strike aside of bath l5 during the dipping operation. A holder which had justbeen dipped, moves next into cooling channel 20 and continues to rotatein cooling channel 20, where the wax is aided in solidifying by forcedcooled air, until it is time for the next dipping step for that holder.

The sequence of operations described above is repeated with each holderin turn until the candles are built up to the desired size.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention, manymodifications and alternatives, arrangements and procedures will beapparent from the above description of those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A candle making machine comprising a wheel rotatable on a verticalaxis, holders attached to said wheel for supporting wicks and partlyformed candles, a wax bath, means for intermittently rotating the wheelto carry said holders into position over said wax bath, means forreciprocally immersing the wicks and partly formed candles thereon inthe wax bath during each stop period, spring-loaded convex bufferhold-back means to aid in positioning the holders over said wax bath,and pawl means to prevent said wheel from rebounding when the hold-backmeans is contacted.

2. The machine of claim 1 wherein said holdback means is a roller means,and a multiple pawl means is used to prevent said wheel from reboundingwhen said roller means is contacted.

3. In a candle making machine comprising a wheel rotatable on a verticalaxis; holders attached to said wheel for supporting tops and bottoms ofwicks and partly formed candles; a wax bath; crank means forintermittently rotating the wheel to carry said holders into positionover said wax bath; means for reciprocally immersing the wicks andpartly formed candles thereon in the wax bath during each stop period ofthe wheel; the improvement for positioning of said holders over said waxbath called a hold-back means which comprises a support, a lever havinga convex buffer pivotably attached to said support, a rod pivotablyattached to said lever, a supported hollow cylinder, a spring positionedwithin said cylinder and operating with said rod, said buifer beingpositioned so said crank approaches it at an angle substantially lessthan perpendicular to said lever with the result that said crank meetsthe greatest resistance upon initially contacting said bufier and theresistance decreases rapidly as said crank continues its movement; andpawl means which prevent said crank from rebounding upon contact withsaid bufier.

4. A candle making machine comprising a wheel rotatable on a verticalaxis; radially extending arms on said wheel; holders for supporting thetops and bottoms of wicks and partly formed candles positioned below andsupported by said radial arms; a wax bath; multiple crank means forintermittently rotating the wheel to carry said holders into positionover said wax bath; means for reciprocally immersing the wicks andpartly formed candles thereon in the wax bath during each stop period ofthe wheel; holdback means to aid in positioning the holders over saidwax bath which comprises a support, a lever pivotably attached to saidsupport, a roller attached to said lever, a rod pivotably attached at anangle of about perpendicular to said lever, said rod having an enlargedfree-end in the form of a piston which coacts with a spring positionedWithin a supported hollow cylinder having an adjustable plug to closeone end thereof, said roller being so positioned said multiple crankmeans approaches it from a direction about parallel to said lever; andmultiple pawl means comprising a base, a plurality of pawls pivotablyattached to said base and springs attached to said pawls and to saidbase.

5. The machine of claim 4 wherein said hold back means and said pawlmeans act on different bosses.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS GreatBritain Nov. 17, 1922

